Al-Atta accuses Somali fighters of joining the RSF
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Caasimada Online
Sudanese General Yassir al-Atta says fighters from northern Somalia are fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces against the government army. He named several countries of alleged origin in a speech delivered in Khartoum on 1 November, according to the Sudanese army and the SUNA news agency.
General Yassir al-Atta, chief of staff of the Sudanese army, accused fighters from northern Somalia of joining the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which are at war with the government army. He said thousands of foreign fighters from countries including Niger, South Sudan, Ethiopia, northern Somalia and Colombia were fighting alongside the RSF, in a speech delivered to military units in Khartoum on 1 November, according to Caasimada Online, citing a summary released by the Sudanese army.
The speech summary does not give the number of fighters from northern Somalia, their precise origin or the circumstances of their arrival in Sudan. Nor does it provide evidence for the accusation or identify any authority that organised or sent the fighters. Al-Atta said the army’s offensive was not targeting the tribes or populations of Darfur and Kordofan, two regions of Sudan, according to the same source.
The statement follows the Sudanese army’s accusation on 1 November that the RSF was recruiting fighters from South Sudan, in an allegation of South Sudanese recruitment. It comes after Khartoum accused 20 countries on 28 October of arming the RSF, according to the accusation against 20 countries.
